Community News

Members continue to drive credit union success

Credit unions across Manitoba
— including our own — enjoyed a very successful 2012 and if you’re curious why,
look no further than the nearest mirror.

Credit unions are driven by members like you and last year thousands
more Manitobans became members of a credit union. In fact, more than 585,000
Manitobans now count themselves as credit union members. That’s roughly 47 per
cent of the 1.25 million people that live in our province.

The growth wasn’t limited to memberships either. The Manitoba credit union system’s assets
increased by $2.16 billion, reaching $21.35 billion. That represents an 11.3
per cent increase, which is consistent with recent years. There was growth in
lending as well, which increased by $1.6 billion — up 10.3 per cent over 2011,
with residential mortgages and commercial real estate leading the way.

The strong financial performance of credit unions can be attributed to
the highly competitive products and services offered to members. Market
research revealed that 57 per cent of credit union members say they are “very
satisfied” with their credit union, compared to 28 per cent of customers of
other financial institutions.

Credit unions helping members and members helping credit unions — it
doesn’t get much more co-operative than that.